This invention relates to the field of materials for constructing habitable shelters from a plurality of light weight, insulated and rigid interlocking modular components, and in particular, it relates to modular block components which may be interlocked using modified tenon and slot mortises and efficiently assembled in adjacent vertically offset arrays to form a habitable shelter having prefabricated siding.
As a basis for satisfying the housing needs for the less fortunate in North America and in other countries, traditional residential construction based upon the current wood based methodology is impractical due to the cost of materials, the level of skill required of the labour force, and the length of time required to construct such residences. In addition such construction is impractical in remote locations and under many climate conditions.
Further, where the people in a locality have been deprived of their homes through the forces of a natural disaster or of political turmoil, or where exploration and development is undertaken in remote areas, shelters for use as dwellings, hospitals or storage areas are usually a priority. When such shelters are required, the lack of available construction time, materials or expertise at the scene renders on site construction by traditional methods impracticable.
Presently, portable shelters which are available for transportation to such a site have several shortcomings such as their cost, weight, their complex method of erection and assembly and that they generally provide only minimal protection from adverse temperatures, heavy rains or extreme environmental conditions.
In the prior art, applicant is aware of U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,265 which issued May 23, 2000 to Stenekes for a corner and end block for interlocking building block system. Stenekes"" discloses an interlocking building block for mortarless walls. A block has integrally-formed projections which extend above the height of the block, and corresponding recesses formed in the lower surface of the block. The block has hollow vertical columns so that channels formed in opposed inner surfaces of the columns receive and locate corresponding projections of an underlying interlocking block. What is neither taught nor suggested, and which it is an object of the present invention to provide, is providing internal facing on one side of a modular block and external siding, the internal facing and the external siding offset in relation to interlocking members sandwiched between the block and the facing and siding respectively.
In summary, the modular tenon and slot mortise building blocks of the present invention for the modular construction of habitable shelters such as emergency shelters, greenhouses, low-cost housing, portable offices or bunkhouses for construction site, or other temporary buildings for human habitation, include, for each building block: (a) hollow rectangular parallelepiped center block, (b) an outer siding member, (c) a first tenon member sandwiched between the center block and the siding member, (d) an inner facing member, and (e) a second tenon member sandwiched between the center block and the facing member. The tenon members are parallel and mounted to longitudinal sides of the center block. The tenon members are positioned and of a length so as to extend longitudinally of a first end of the center block by a first distance and so as to form mortised first and second recesses having a first depth behind the first and second tenon members, respectively, between the siding member and the center block and between the facing member and the center block. The first distance is substantially equal to the first depth.
The tenon members are each, in lateral cross-section, chevron-shaped so as to form: (a) a ridge along the upper surface of the tenon members having a triangle-shape in lateral cross-section, and (b) a channel along the lower surface of the tenon members having the triangle-shaped in lateral cross-section. The siding member has a lower generally planar skirt which extends, cantilevered, gently flared downwardly from a base of the siding member mounted adjacent the first tenon member.
Advantageously a first plane containing a lowermost surface of the center block also contains a lowermost edge of the facing member, and a second plane, parallel to the first plane, containing an uppermost surface of the center block also contains uppermost edges of the facing member and the siding member.
In one embodiment the siding and facing members have oppositely disposed rectangular planar exposed surfaces.
In second and third embodiments the building block is radiussed around a corner so as to form corner blocks, wherein in the second embodiment the siding member is radially outermost relative to the corner and facing member radially innermost, and wherein in the third embodiment the facing member is radially outermost relative to the corner and the siding member is radially innermost, the second and third embodiments thereby forming outer and inner corner blocks respectively.
In one preferred embodiment the center block has frangible upper and lower walls whereby the frangible walls may be selectively broken through for passage of conduit through stacked rows, or through columns of the building blocks.